Skip to main content

Success! Finally Got Part B in Process!

I really don't know what happened, or why my personal visit to the offices to get my Part B signup did not work.

All I knew is that my Part B coverage wasn't showing up on the website.

I tried calling - not a good idea - I spent HOURS on the phone, without success.

So, this week, I got into the car, drove about 2 miles down the road, checked in and waited for almost 45 minutes (I didn't have an appointment), and saw a representative.

Who was immediately helpful.

I now have Part B coverage.

Now, I will need to set up the arrangements for paying for it, but - I'm in, without a penalty.

Penalty?

Yeah. It turns out that if you don't sign up at 65, for BOTH Parts A and B, you will have to pay a penalty for the rest of your life in the form of higher premiums.

The exception - which I qualified for - is for those over 65 who are still working (which, until 6/1/17, I was). I just needed to show them the form CMS-L564, signed by my former employer, which verified that I had acceptable health coverage during that post-65 time.

It just reinforces my understanding that paperwork is VERY important. Follow up with government, if there seems to be a problem. Verify any benefit online (actually, it's BETTER than over-the-phone), and keep files for paperwork.

And, all of that is just the sign-up process. I haven't submitted any claims yet.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stop! Just - STOP!

I do understand that furniture designers have to make a living, but - this is just wrong . I've tried "ergonomic" furniture. I've sat in those hard-seated chairs and couches. They are NOT comfortable. They are NOT conducive to working on for extended time periods. They are NOT what I want. Apple LOVES them - well, yeah, they would. 20-somethings can sit anywhere comfortably. What I want is furniture that fits a senior, with a bad back and aching knees, and a need to get to her feet INSTANTLY, when the call of nature sings out. I don't need a seat so hard that my butt goes numb. I've seen seats like the ones shown, and a LOG has more 'give' to it. I don't need a couch for "two" that can only fit MAYBE 1-1/2 - IF they are on the 1 meal a day, semi-starvation diet (SO healthy!). I don't need a fixed table that encroaches on my already-diminished seating space. That "table" won't allow more than a small laptop/ta...
1 comment
Read more

One Reason to Write

This post sparked mine today. I've been writing (slowly, one anecdote at a time) my memories of my youth, and the stories that I remember being passed down from parents, grandparents, and other long-lived people. I was fortunate - in my mother's family, old age was the default - my grandparents were born in the 19th century, and passed on stories of their youth. My father's family was equally long-lived, but not as talkative (WV vs. Irish-descent). Still, I have an aunt by marriage whose passion is genealogy, and who had compiled a bookshelf of clippings, copies of newspaper stories, and charts of the family, back to pre-Colonial times. If you aren't on Ancestry.com (and, I don't blame you - the price has risen shockingly!), you might want to use a word processing program or app - Google Docs is easy to use, and can be shared with others easily - to write down your memories - personal, or what has been told to you. If you'd rather, set up a videocam, and...
2 comments
Read more

WEP, Explained (Sort of)

The idea behind WEP - the Windfall Elimination Provision - is that a FEW people were taking advantage of the ability to get a government pension, then take a non-government job, and get Social Security benefits, as well. According to Wikipedia: "The  Windfall Elimination Provision  (abbreviated WEP [1] ) is a statutory provision in  United States  law [2]  which affects benefits paid by the  Social Security Administration  under Title II of the  Social Security Act . It reduces the  Primary Insurance Amount  (PIA) of a person's  Retirement Insurance Benefits (RIB) or  Disability Insurance Benefits  (DIB) when that person is eligible or entitled to a pension based on a job which did not contribute to the  Social Security Trust Fund . While in effect, it also affects the benefits of others claiming on the same social security record." How it affects me: both my husband and myself worked primarily in teaching jobs ove...
Post a Comment
Read more